I’ve been thinking about wedding favors for some reason from the moment we got engaged. I think it’s because my sister in law gave me the idea to give away pashmina shawls. We were going to order a bunch of them and then tie them on the back of chairs to look like ribbon/chair decorations. Then at some point in the night, we’d tell our guests what they were and to take them home as gifts. I was even going to get little labels made with our names and wedding date sewn on them. I eventually abandoned this plan as the numbers grew to 450-500. Also, I was feeling bad for not even attempting to include the men in the favor.
So, one day my mom and I were talking and we came up with the idea of doing something with tea. Sri Lankans and Indians alike are obsessed with tea so this seemed like a pretty perfect idea. Then Mrs. Onion posted about using adagio tea samples for wedding favors. I went on their site and ordered some samples, and they were adorable. I came up with this idea to do a Ceylon tea (Sri Lankan tea) and a Darjeeling (Indian tea) so it brings the two cultures together. I think I’m going to stick little Sri Lankan and Indian flags on them or something like that to make the idea clear.
I’m also super excited because I finally ordered the tea tins and had such an amazing experience with Adagio. Adagio specifically does wedding favors with cute preprinted labels that come in organza bags, but they didn’t have the Darjeeling tea available that I wanted for the wedding favors. Despite that, Adagio has offered to give me labels free of charge and place the labels on all the tea tins. Not only are they doing that, but they are also going to try and order special organza bags that will fit both tins of tea in them. On top of this they are giving me a 15% discount because I ordered SO much tea (400 tins). They were so prompt with their response time and so accommodating, I know I’ll be ordering tea from them for the rest of my life. I highly recommend them for any tea needs. 
Now I just need to figure out how I will be packaging these tins. I want to put the tins in some type of box and emboss the lid with our wedding monogram. My brother gave me the idea of using these paper mache boxes from A.C. Moore (see image below). I went and picked up some paper mache boxes and a small wooden box so now I just need to test the embossing on these surfaces. I’m sure embossing 200 boxes is going to take a stupid amount of time - enter MOH, sister in law and mom :).
Is anyone else doing tea favors?
I thought about doing tea favors, but changed my mind. It didn’t seem to go with the rest of our wedding. But I love tea and I think it’s an awesome favor!
I went with adagio teas for my favors, and I really liked them a lot except for the labels. The labels the tea favors come with are pretty cheap and don’t look as nice as you see in the photo example. The ink they used looks like it was running out when they printed mine. There were these funny yellow streaks on 25% of the labels, and the text was very thin and not printed in that fancy italics script you see on the sample label. Luckily, the labels came off easy and I printed my own labels with my wedding monogram on them and they looked much better. Not sure if that was just my own experience with them, but just be careful about their labels.
How much tea is in a sample?
Is it in bags or loose?? Not sure my guest would make use of loose tea…
A friend of mine used Adagio tea as her favors and it was hands down my most favorite favor of all weddings I’ve been to so far. Tea was great and I thought of her every time I made it ( the tin had enough tea for few cups)
@Monica - I haven’t actually gone through the whole box since there are so many tea tins. I’ll make sure to look that the labels are printed well though. Thanks!
@Jessica - It is loose tea and there is enough tea in each sample to make about 10 cups of tea. I think its more like 5-6 cups because I like my tea strong. they do sell teabags but i dunno how they’d look as favors - http://www.adagio.com/teabags/index.html?SID=7c98c57f948a87eb2c02ead3fa12eac1
Miss Margarita — I’m so glad you took my Adagio suggestion and had a great customer service experience. I have been a big fan since my brother got us hooked when he gave us a teapot and 6 sample tins as a Christmas gift a few years ago.
We have about 14 sample tins and larger tins of our favorites — Foxtrot, Oriental Spice and a wedding mix we made for Mr. Onion’s cousin and his fiance. I have a cup almost every morning. ENJOY!
Miss Margarita … you have brought a big smile to my face this morning as I read your profile:
We’re long-distance planning for our “big fat brown wedding” in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
The ‘big fat brown wedding’ is wonderful.
I absolutely love the tea concept. I mostly enjoy the idea because the wedding favors will be ‘useful’ and for both sexes. I has become such a shame these days to see sooooo much money spent on wedding favors that are really throw aways.
Miss Margarita … you have brought a big smile to my face this morning as I read your profile:
We’re long-distance planning for our “big fat brown wedding” in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
The ‘big fat brown wedding’ is wonderful.
I absolutely love the tea concept. I mostly enjoy the idea because the wedding favors will be ‘useful’ and for both sexes. It has become such a shame these days to see sooooo much money spent on wedding favors that are really throw aways.
@Mrs. Onion - Thanks again for recommending me to Adagio
@Kim - you are so sweet! I hope our guests like the tea concept too
@Miss Green Tea - I can’t wait to hear about your tea favors!
Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor
Engagement Date: March 21, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: June 18, 2008
Venue: Saddlerock Ranch
About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
I also ordered from Adagio, and I love them!!!